Apparatus for renovating and refining butter, oils, lard, and fats.



N0. 856,355. PATENTED JUNE 11, 1907.

G. G. MARTIN & W. D. JONES.

APPARATUS FDR RENOVATING AND REFINING BUTTER, OILS, LARD, AND FATS.

APPLICATION FILED SBBT.4.1906

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UNTED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

CHARLES C. MARTIN AN D WILLIAM D. JONES, OF DENVER, COLORADO; SAID JONESASSIGNOR TO SAID MARTIN APPARATUS FOR RENOVATING AND REFINING BUTTER,OILS, LARD, AND FATS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. June 11, 1907.

Application filed September 4,1906. Serial No. 333,172.

T0 (6 whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, CHARLES C. MARTIN and W'ILLIAM D J ONES, citizensof the United States of America, residing in the city and county ofDenver and State of Colorado, have invented a new and useful Apparatusfor Renovating and Refining Butter, Oils, Lard, and Fat, of which thefollowing is a specification.

Our invention relates to a new and improved apparatus for renovating andrefining utter, oils, lard, and fat, and the objects of our inventionare: first, to provide an apparatus by which old, rancid, moldy, andstale butter can be renovated and refined, and by which machinery-madecreamery butter can be improved in purity. Second, to provide a newbutter renovating and refining apparatus, in which a new butter meltingand curd settling receptacle or tank is provided, in which the butter isfirst melted, and the curds are settled out of it, and in which themelted butter is kept in a heated and melted state. Third, to provide abutter renovating and refining apparatus, in which a tank is arranged toconfine a quantity of the melted butter oil in a shallow body, and forapplying indirectly heat to said tank to hold said butter oil in a fluidstate, and in which the butter oil can be treated by innumerableneedle-like jets of hot air under pressure. Fourth, to provide a butterrenovating and refining apparatus, in which a tank is provided that isarranged to kee the melted butter in a melted state, an in which refinedbutter oil is mechanically mixed with pro erly pasteurized or otherwiseprepared mil or other suitable emulsifying fluld, such as cream, buttermilk, or sour milk. Fifth, to provide a butter renovating and refiningapparatus, in which butter is refined, emulsified, congealed, andreworked to a perfected, commercial, and consumable state. We attainthese objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings,in which:

The drawing shows a plan of a plant showing the machines and elementsused in my apparatus for treating butter, oils, lard, and fat.

hile our apparatus is adapted to 'the renovating and refining of oils,lard, and fat, it has been especially designed for renovating andrefining butter, and we will describe it for renovating and refiningbutter only.

Our apparatus consists of a series of machines, which act cooperativelytogether to achieve the desired result.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1., designates a tank which weterm the butter melter and curd separator, which performs the first stepin our butter renovating and refining apparatus. This tank may be of anydesired butter melting capacity, but in our practical and commercialtreatment of butter with this apparatus-we have preferably made it'tohold six hundred pounds of melted butter oil. This butter melting'andcurd sepa rator tank consists of two tanks 2 and 3, one being placedwithin the other. The outer tank 2, is provided with a body of hotwater, which is kept heated by any suitable means preferably a steamboiler 4 is used, from which a pipe 5 extends to the tank, and isconnected to a coil of pipes 6, within the outer tank, and a return pipe7 extends from the coil to an exhaust receptacle 7A, at the boiler. Thetank 3, rests inside of the tank 2, and extends above it, and its lowerportion is surrounded by the water in the outer tank, and at the rearend of the tank 3, a heated platform 8, is placed on which the butter inmasses is placed, the practice being to take barrels, kegs, or boxes ofbutter, which are the ways it is generally shipped, and knock thebarrels or kegs or boxes to pieces, and hoist the mass of butter on theplatform, which is heated by any suitable means. This platform however,preferably consists of coils of pipe 9, connected to a supply of steam.Below the heated platform, a trough 10' is placed, and the melted butterruns down the trough into a depending compartment 1.1,

formed at one end of both tanks, which is lower than the body of thetanks, and the curds in the butter oil settle into this dependingportion of the tank 3, in the bottom of which a valve discharge pipe 12,is placed, and the butter oil is thus separated from the curds and itflows through apertures which are arranged in a vertical row, and areprovided with removable plugs 13, that are adapted to be removed and theapertures opened and closed by an operator to suit the height of themelted butter oil in the curd settling compartment, and in the body ofthe tank 3, another curd settling compartment 14 is formed, which isprovided with a valvecontrolled discharge pipe 15. This curd compartmentis adapted to catch any curds escaping with the butter oil into the bodyof the tank from the compartment 11, and the two discharge pipes 12 and15 lead to a curd receiving receptacle 15A. This melted butter oil iskept heated by the hot water of the lower tank, in order to hold it in afluid form at all times while there is butter oil in the tank. Thebutter oil is then conveyed by a suitable pipe or conveyer 16, to amachine comprising a double receptacle, tank, or vessel 17, which Weterm the pneumatic percolator and refiner, which is made of such an areathat the butter oil will be confined in a body of shallow depth, and inthis tank we subject the butter oil for a period of time of from aboutthree to five hours, to a continuous agitation, which we impart to it byper colating substantially evenly throughout its area thousands ofneedle-like jets of hot air under sufficient pressure to have a liftingeffeet on the butter oil, and of sufficient force to exert a tearing,separating, and comminuting and removing effect on the semi-solid,mucilaginous, albuminous, sticky, and other natural or any foreignsubstance, that may be resent in the butter that is under renovatmg andrefining treatment. The amount of time required to treat a charge ofbutter oil in this pneumatic percolating refiner, depends on the qualityof the butter being renovated and refined. This pneumatic percolatingand refining machine consists of two tanks 18 and 19, one within theother.

The inner tank 19, may be of any desired capacity, but in practice wepreferably make it to hold charges of about twelve to fifteen hundredpounds of butter oil; consequently the contents of the butter meltingand curd separating machine is emptied into it when a charge of thisweight has been melted in the melting and separating machine, and theinner tank 19 is made of an area that will permit this charge of butteroil to stand in it at a shallow depth, preferably a depth of a fewinches, the depth depending on the pressure of the hot air, but we havefound in practice that we obtain the best possible results with apressure of from about eight to sixteen ounces of hot air per squareinch, and with a depth of about ten to twelve inches of butter oil, andwe heat the air to a temperature of from about one hundred to twohundred degrees Fahrenheit, and we discharge preferably about tenhundred to twelve hundred cubic feet of hot air into this depth and volume of butter oil per minute.

The inside tank 19, sits within the outside tank 18, and the outsidetank 18 is heated by any suitable means, preferably by being filled withwater which is heated by a steam pipe 20, extending from the boiler 4,to a pipe coil 21, located within the outer tank, from which an exhaustpipe 22 extends. This hot water is used to keep the butter oil at aproper melted liquid state. The inner tank is a closed tank, and isprovided with large entrance covers 23, which are preferably positionedat the ends of the tank. The percolating air jets are introduced intothe tank through an air conveying pipe 24, from which branches 25 extendto the opposite end portions of the machine, and extend into the tank toits bottom, where they are each connected to a cross-pipe 250, from theopposite sides of which pipes 25D extend along the bottom of the tank toits central portion and to its ends, and these pipes 25D are pro videdwith innumerable needle-like apertures 25E, which are placed closetogether along the pipe and are arranged in the pipes of the coils todischarge the air jets in all directions if desired, but preferablydownward, so as to discharge close to or against the bottom of the tank.We preferably place fifteen hundred of these hot air jet apertures ineach coil; consequently a tank capable of holding about three thousandpounds of butter oil would contain three thousand of these air jetperforations, and the perforations and the coils are so arranged thatthese jets of air are discharged close together into the butter oil, andsubstantially evenly throughout the tanks area. The air is supplied byany suitable air compressing machine, such as a blower 28, from whichthe pipe 24 extends to the tank 19. The blower draws the air through afilter 28A.

Tne hot air that forms the percolating ets may be heated before itenters the blower or after it leaves the blower, or it may be heated inthe course of its compression, to the desired degree, if an aircompressor is used, but we preferably heat the air by inserting withinthe pipe 24 that conveys the air from the blower to the tank 19, a steamcoil 29, which is connected to the steam boiler 4 by a pipe 30. Anexhaust pipe 31, is also extended from the coil. The air then passesthrough the steam-heated coil as it flows through the pipe, and isheated to the desired degree of heat, which is regulated at the boiler.This hot air flowing into this sized charge of butter oil under thispressure and in such a great volume per minute, percolates through thebutter oil with such a constant steady force that it keeps it in violentagitation, and the air not only rnost thoroughly charges the butter oil,but these needle-like jets of hot air are very piercing and penetrating,and they eliminate the greater portion of moisture, and thoroughlyremove all gases and remove the greater portion of the fungus and germlife, and by its great heat combined with its great force action, whichshoots through the mass with thousands of needle-like points, and withthe ITO chemical union of the oxygen, this hot air completely saturates,commingles with and comminutes the molecules of the constituent elementsof the butter oil, and completely removes all semi-liquids and anyalbuminous substances and all gummy and sticky and mucilaginous matterthat is present in the butter oil. This combined great he at and theforce of so many thousand needle-like jets of air, force up through thebutter oil and carry with them these deleterious, impure, and foreignelements, and substances, and remove, eradicate, eliminate, and driveout the greater portion of the germ and fungus life and all moisture,and after from about a two to five hour hot airpercolating and refiningtreatment, the butter oil is reduced to perfectly pure dry butter oil.The air is then shut off, and the butter oil is then removed from thisair percolating and'refining tank, and is conveyed to an emulsifyingtank, where it is mixed with properly pasteurized and prepared milk, orif desired with cream or butter milk or with sour milk, but preferablywith pure fresh properly prepared milk, from which air either hot orcold or in any form, is excluded, as its presence under pressure in thebutter oil and milk drives out from the milk and butter oil andemulsifier the bouquet of sweet tasting flavor of the milk, which is theessential element we wish to impart to the butter by this emulsifyingtreatment. These innumerable hot air jets flow with sufficient pressureup through the butter as to ve y violently agitate it, and they separateand carry up through the butter oil to its surface and into the space inthe tank above it, any impure, foreign, and dele terious matter therein,and this impure, foreign, and deleterious matter is removed from thesurface and from above the surface of the butter oil, and from the tankby a suction air blast that is strong enough and has capacity to drawfrom the tank the discharge of the thousand to twelve hundred feet ofhot percolating air jets per minute, and carryall of this matter withit. This suction air blast may be operatively connected to the charge ofbutter oil by any of the commonly used air suction devices, such as asuction blower or fan 32, and suitable piping 30, leading from above thesurface of the butter oil and connected to the receptacle, tank, orvessel in which it is confined to the atmosphere. In the practicalapplication and operation of this feature of our invention, however, weattach a large funnel-shaped pipe 33, to the central portion of the topof the tank, which extends to the atmosphere. A drip trap 34, which isprovided with a plugged discharge aperture 34A, is formed in the pipe tocatch the oil carried into the lower end of the pipe by the suction airblast, and in the pipe the suction fan 32, is placed, which isoperatively connected to an electric motor 35, or

other source of power, which is of capacity enough to suck the volume ofpercolating air and the freed and separated impurities from the butteroil and tank.

The purified and refined butter oil, when it is run into a mixingemulsifier, is very thoroughly stirred, kneaded, agitated, washed, andmixed with properly pasteurized or otherwise prepared milk, cream,butter-milk, or sour milk, until it is fully and thoroughly emulsified.This emulsifying step in our process may be carried out in anypositively acting, mechanical stirring emulsifying machine, but in thepractical oper ation of our process we have found it necessary toprovide our apparatus with a mechanical and positively operating inilkand butter stirring, kneading, and mixing and emulsifying device 36, aswe do not treat the refined butter oil to an air blast either hot orcold in the presence of milk or in the presence of sour milk or in thepresence of buttermilk, or in the presence of cream, or, in the presenceof any other material, and we do not use air either hot or cold in theform of percolating jets, in the emulsifying treatment, but we confinethis treating of the refined butter oil and milk to a mechanical mixingof the butter oil and the milk until the butter is properly emulsifiedby and with the milk. This emulsifying tank comprises a tank 37, havinga conical bottom, in which a valve discharge aperture and pipe 38, isplaced, and which is surrounded by an outside tank 39, that forms asteam or water jacketed space 40, around the tank, which is providedwith a valve water inlet pipe 41 in the axial center of this tank werotatably mount a vertical shaft 42, that is provided at its upper endwith a driving pulley 43, that is adapted to be connected by a belt to asource of power, such as an electric motor 44; On this shaft at thelower portion of this tank, we secure a screwbladed propeller 45, and ata short distance above the propeller and in the lower portion of thetank we form a partition floor or diaphragm 46, across the tank, inwhich a plurality of apertures 47 are formed, for the butter oil to flowthrough. Around each of the apertures 47 on the upper side of the floorwe form an angular baffle plate 48, which are all adapted to deflect thejets of butter oil and milk from vertical and other channeling paths. Acentral aperture 48A is also formed through the diaphragm around theshaft, to allow the butter oil to flow below the diaphragm. The water orsteam jacket space is connected by a valve pipe 49, with the boiler 4,and this space is filled with water which is heated and kept hot bysteam from the boiler 4. The renovated and refined butter oil is thenrun into the emulsifier, and a suitable supply of properly prepared milkis also run into the emulsifier from a supply tank 50, until theemulsifier contains a fixed IIO charge, and we preferably make thisemulsifying machine to receive the full charge of the melter and curdseparator, and of the air percolating tank, which as above stated isabout three thousand pounds. After the emulsifier has been filled up,the screw propeller is rotated preferably at a speed of from about onehundred and fifty to two hundred revolutions per minute.

The mechanical emulsifying machine of our apparatus treatment of butteroil difiers from all others used in the art of butter renovating andrefining. It is not an air blast or air percolating machine, andconsequently does not treat butter oil to an air blast in the presenceof milk, or to an innumerable number of divided and independent airpercolating needle-like jets, and in fact it does not in any mannertreat the butter oil with air in any form in the presence of milk orcream or other emulsifying fluid. This feature of our apparatus ispurely a mechanical commingling and mixing process of the butter and themilk, which is effected by rapidly revolving the screw propeller, whichforces the butter oil and milk up through the apertures in the flooracross the tank, which jets are pro jected in different directions upthrough the mass of butter oil and milk, while at the same time thebutter oil and milk are steadily flowing down to the bottom of the tankthrough the apertures 47; consequently the butter oil and the milk arekept in a constant and continuous endless movement through the centraland other apertures of the diaphragm across the tankuntil it isthoroughly mixed to a butter-oil milk fluid, which mixing imparts to thebutter oil a good pure butter taste. This butter oil mixing treatment iscontinued for a period of time of from about one to two hours, as themixing action is very rapid. As soon as this mechanical mixingemulsifying treatment is complete,

' the emulsified butter oil is run into a cooling and congealing tank51, which comprises a tank in which a body of clear pure cold or icewater is placed, into which the charge of emulsified butter oil is run,and this cold water congeals the emulsified butter oil into a pastymass, which is separated from the Water and is conveyed to a reworkingtank 52, which is a tank provided with. rotating paddles or blades, thatare rotatably connected to a source of power, such as a motor 53, whereit is reworked to a commercially salable and consumable condition.

Our apparatus is very simple. It is practically automatic and continuousin its operation, and it will renovate and refine old ery butter, in avery much less time and with butter, and will improve in purity newcreamvery much less expense than the apparatus at present in use; andwhile we have described the preferred construction and ar rangement ofthe various machines and other cooperating elements of which it iscomposed, we do not wish to be limited to it, as our in ventioncontemplates the use of any apparatus that melts butter and separatesthe curds from the resulting butter oil, and then subjects the butteroil to a pneumatic needleair jet percolating treatment, independent ofthe presence of milk or cream or sour milk or butter milk in or with thebutter oil, and the mechanical mixing of the refined butter oil withproperly prepared milk, cream, sour milk, or butter milk without thepresence of air in any form, and the congealing and. reworking of theemulsified butter oil.

Having described our apparatus, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. An apparatus for renovating and refining butter, which consists of adouble tank, one part being provided with means for keeping the otherpart hot, the other part being provided with a heated platform arrangedto receive and melt butter, and with a partitioned compartment arrangedto separate the curds from the melted butter oil, and provided with aconveyer, a machine at the end of said conveyer arranged to receive andconfine said resulting butter oil in charges of a predetermined amount,and in an area of surface of shallow depth, and provided with 5 pipeprovided with innumerable needle-like apertures connected to a supply ofhot air under suflicient pressure to kee the whole area of the charge ofbutter 011 in boiling agitated condition until the impurities anddeleterious and mucilaginous substances have been dissolved, separated,and driven up through said butter oil by the force of said air jets tothe surface of said butter oil, and above the surface of said butteroil, and a pipe operatively connected to a power operating motorarranged on said machine and adapted to remove said impurities from thesurface of and from above said butter oil by air suction.

2. An apparatus for renovating and refining butter, which consists of adouble tank, one part being provided with means for keeping the otherpart hot, the other part being provided with a heated platform arrangedto receive and melt butter and with a partitioned compartment arrangedto separate the curds from the melted butter oil and provided with aconveyer, a machine at the end of said conveyer arranged to receive andconfine said resulting butter oil in charges of a predetermined amount,and in an area of surface of shallow depth, and. provided with pipeprovided with innumerable needle-like apertures connected to a supply ofhot air under suflicient pressure to keep the whole area of the chargeof butter oil in boiling agitated condition until the impurities anddeleterious and mucilaginous substances have been dissolved, separated,and driven up through said butter oil by the force of said air jets tothe surface of said butter oil, and above the surface of said butteroil, and a pipe operatively connected to a power operating motorarranged on said machine and. adapted to remove said impurities from thesurface of and from above said butter oil by air suction, a conveyerarranged to convey said refined oil from said oil percolating machine,an emulsifying machine connected to said conveyer, adapted to receivesaid refined butter oil from said pneumatic percolator and to receive asuitable emulsifying fluid, a rotary stirring device in said emulsifyingmachine opcratively connected to a motor and arranged and adapted to miXsaid re fined butter oil and emulsifying fluid by mechanical means, andwithout the use of or in the presence of air in any form, meansconnected with said emulsifying machine for keeping said butter oil in aliquid condition,

and a valve controlled means for discharging said emulsified butter oilfrom said emulsifying machine.

An apparatus for renovating butter, which comprises the followinginstrumentalities, a butter melting and curd separating machine,comprising a tank arranged to melt and separate the curds from thebutter, and to keep said butter oil in-a melted condition, a conveyerarranged to convey the melted butter oil from the melter and separatorto a pneumatic percolating and refining machine arranged to receive saidbutter oil from said conveyer, and comprising a tank arranged andadapted to hold and confine a shallow quantity of said melted butter oilin a shallow mass in a melted state, and free from contact with milk orany other emulsifying fluid, and from water, and that is provided withthousands of air discharging apertures connected to a supply of hot airunder pressure enough to keep said quantity of melted butter oil in aviolently agitated -condition until the impurities have been carried-tothe surface of or above said butter oil, and that is arranged andprovided with a pipe operatively connected to a suction adapted toremove said impurities by air suction, a conveyer connected to saidpneumatic percolating and refining machine, an emulsifying machineconnected to said pneumatic percolator and refiner, consisting of a tankprovided with means for keeping the butter oil in a melted condition,and having a butter oil stirring device rotatably mounted therein,adapted to mechanically stir said refined butter oil and a suitableemulsifying fluid together, a conveyer connected to said emulsifyingtank, acooling and congealing tank connected to said conveyer adapted tooongeal said emulsified butter oil, and an operative emulsified butteroil reworking tank in operative relation to said cooling and congealingtank.

4. An apparatus for renovating and refining butter, which consists ofthe following instrumentalities, a butter melting and curd separatingmachine, having a heated platform, on which the butter is melted,partitioned compartments in which the butter curds are separated fromsaid melted butter oil, means including heat for keeping the meltedbutter oil in a fluid state in said machine, a pneumatic percolatingrefining machine connected to said butter melting and curd separatingmachine, and adapted to receive predetermined charges .of melted butteroil therefrom, and means including innumerable small air jet aperturesin said pneumatic percolating refining machine, operatively connected toa supply of hot oxygen under pressure for subjecting said melted butteroil to innumerable jets of hot oxygen until its impurities and moistureare removed, and it has been renovated to a per fectly pure and refinedbutter oil.

5. An apparatus for renovating and refining butter, whichconsists of thefollowing instrumentalities, a butter melting and curd separatingmachine, having a heated platform, on which the butter is melted,partitioned compartments in which the butter curds are separated fromsaid melted butter oil, means including heat for keeping the meltedbutter oil in a fluid state in said machine, a pneumatic percolatingrefining machine connected to said butter melting and curd separatingmachine and adapted to receive predetermined charges of melted butteroil therefrom, an air supply pipe leading into said pneumaticpercolating machine operatively connected to asupply of hot oXygen underpressure, a group of pipes extending from said air supply pipe over thebottom of said percolating machine, thousands of small perforations insaid group of pipes arranged close together, and in any predeterminedorder, and arranged to discharge needle-like jets of hot oxygen into andthrough said melted butter oil until its impurities are removed, andmeans including heat for holding said melted butter oil in a suitablemelted fluid condition.

6. An apparatus for renovating and refining butter, which consists ofthe following instrumentalities, a butter melting and curd separatingmachine, having a heated platform, on which the butter is melted,partitioned compartments in which the butter curds are separated fromsaid melted butter oil, means including heat for keeping the meltedbutter oil in a fluid state in said machine, a pneumatic percolatingrefining machine connected to said butter melting and curd separatingmachine, and adapted to receive predetermined charges of melted butteroil therefrom, an air supply pipe leading into said pneumaticpercolating machine operatively connected to a supply of hot oXy genunder pressure, a group of pipes extendtermined order and arranged todischarge needle like jets of hot oxygen into and through. said meltedbutter oil until its impurities are removed, means including heat forholding said melted butter oil in a suitable melted fluid condition, andmeans in,

cluding an air suction apparatus operatively connected to saidpercolating machine for removing the impurities that are separated fromsaid butter oil by said hot oxygen from said pneumatic percolating andrefining ma chine.

7. An apparatus for renovating and refining butter, which consists ofthe following instrumentalities, a butter melting and curd separatingmachine, having a heated platform on which the butter is melted,partitionedcompartments in which the butter curds are separated fromsaid melted butter oil, means including heat for keeping the meltedbutter oil in a fluid state in said machine, a pneumatic percolatingrefining machine connected to said butter melting and curd separatingmachine and adapted to receive predetermined charges of melted butteroil therefrom, an air supply pipe leading into said pneumaticpercolating machine operatively connected to a supply of hot oxygenunder pressure, a group of pipes extending from said air supply pipeover the bottom of said percolating machine, thousands of smallperforations in said group of pipes arranged close together and in anypredetermined order and arranged to discharge needle-like jets of hotoxygen into and through purities that are separated from said butter oilby said hot oxygen from said pneumatic percolating and refining machine,an emulsifying machine connected to said pneumatic percolating andrefining machine, adapted to hold said refined butter oil and a suitablecharge of a suitable emulsifying fluid, as milk or cream, saidemulsifying machine being arranged and adapted to prevent its charges ofrefined butter oil and milk from contacting with air under pressure, arotatable stirring device in said emulsifying machine, a perforateddiaphragm in said emulsifying machine, arranged and adapted to break theswirling actions of said stirring device, an emulsified butter oilcooling and congealing machine operatively connected to said emulsifyingmachine to receive the emulsified butter oil therefrom, and a congealedemulsified butter oil reworking machine arranged in operative relationto said cooling and congealing machine, and adapted to rework saidrefined emulsified and congealed butter into a commercially salable andconsumable com modity. In testimony whereof we aifix our signa ture inpresence of two witnesses.

CHARLES C. MARTIN. WILLIAM D. JONES.

Witnesses:

G. SARGENT ELLIOTT, ADELLA M. FowLE.

